Vern, you're no kid and I am - as most will attest - an old fart. We've both been around this world a bit and seen things we'd probably prefer to have missed. As a kid I remember my uncle working for the WPA in the late '30s and I still recall the unease of my adult family when news of Pearl Harbor hit the radio. There was a lot of other crap since then too, stuff that neither of us need to recall, let alone relate.
Like many here, I remember days when guns were sitting in the corner, loaded and ready for use. We kids didn't play around with them because they weren't mysterious, needing exploration. They were just - there.
Roosevelt died and Truman took over with his no-nonsense way of doing things but even he was finally defeated in an election. By that time we were at "peace" with only minor police actions in places like Korea. A succession of similar actions ensued and with each one the recriminations among legislators increased. Each war or police action had to be somebody's fault and no lawmaker wanted to assume the blame so it had to fall on someone else.
Laws were passed... some to make it easier for people to get money from the government so they could get a college education. In time though the government became jealous of anyone having any more power than it. So laws were passed (for the children, of course) to limit the freedoms we had been born with. Now we're shackled with the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform law, a direct infringement on the First Amendment to the Constitution. Prior to that was the 1934 National Firearms Act and the 1968 Gun Control Act and the Brady Bill and the Assault Weapons Ban (which, while it has died a well deserved death, is in danger of resusitation.)
While the gun-control laws were passed by Democratic administrations the CFR was passed by a Republican. Some of those Democratic administrations even had Republican-controlled congresses but the bleeding still continued.
I think the time has come to recognise that the difference between Democrat and Republican politicians is so small as to be inconsequential. They both want power that they don't deserve, don't need and shouldn't have. Both sides lie, cheat and steal to stay in office so they can acquire more power. I remember an old lady who, when asked why she voted for JFK, said she liked the way he combed his hair. Trivial? Silly? Perhaps. But in the long run she cast her vote with as much intelligence as those who listen to the candidates and believe what they hear.
I've sat, glued to the tv screen, listening and watching various candidates as they lie about their stances on world and national issues. I've cast my vote and watched the candidate of my choice suddenly find he was "unable" - through no fault of his own, of course - to follow through on his promises. I'm not going to play their game any more. You can if you want, it really won't make a difference anyway.
Bubba was bad but so was his predecessor and so is his successor. They are all lying, scheming politicians that will deny you the basic rights you were born with while assuming powers they aren't meant to have.
If you truly believe that voting for the best candidate ammounts to voting for the worst (Perot v. Clinton) then any arguement I make will not sway you. By the same token, I will continue to vote for the person I want to win. If, by whatever means, the best person isn't even on the ballot I'll write him in.
The weekend is upon us. Have a good one!
